Behind this door, in the Shyogwe diocese, I met a lady who’s contributed so much to the community in terms of addressing HIV and I really admire her endurance with the challenges she face. Beatrice lives her concern for the HIV epidemic by training representatives in all parishes in the region to address the issue by: 1) promoting prevention, 2) fighting discrimination against those who are affected, and most of all 3) encouraging people to be tested. She explained to me why this last point is so integral to combating the spread of the virus. Most people don’t want to know if they are positive, with the fear that they’ll know whether they are going to die and with the fear of being rejected by their community after being diagnosed. This of course eases the spread of the virus as people live obliviously. When people are tested negative, they are encouraged to stay clean. Their testimonies many times help a great deal to encourage others to follow the same route. If tested positive, the person is invited to join an association that helps them to adjust to living, obtain medication and educate them on why not to spread the virus. Sounds easy, but then there’s always the case of the poorest of the poor that sees prostitution as the only way to survive. How ironic.
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